Archive for the ‘Italians’ Category

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a mentor and friend to Sen. Barack Obama for 20 years, in a recent sermon shouted: “God damn America” for its history of slavery, racism and oppression against its black citizens.
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Mr. Wright — who baptized Mr. Obama at the Trinity United Church of Christ, presided over his wedding there and inspired him in his career as a community activist and a politician — has been a lightning rod for the campaign from the very beginning.
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When Mr. Obama announced his candidacy for president, Mr. Wright, who is also a member of Mr. Obama’s National African American Religious Leadership Committee, was asked not to appear because of his “black power” social views, which many have criticized as separatist, forcing Mr. Obama to distance himself from his home pastor.
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He has given many fiery sermons in his career and has called Nation of Islam head Louis Farrakhan his friend, but it is his final sermon as head pastor, given Feb. 10, that has called his relationship with Mr. Obama and his views into question again.
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“Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single-parent home. Barack was. Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people,” Mr. Wright said.
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“Hillary can never know that. Hillary ain’t never been called a n—-er.”
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Mr. Wright went on to detail all the ways in which Hillary is not black enough to represent black Americans, and he also attempted to paint Mr. Obama as a Jesus figure, saying his life parallels that of Christ.
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“Jesus was a poor black man who lived in a country and who lived in a culture that was controlled by rich white people. The Romans were rich. The Romans were Italians, which means they were Europeans, which means they were white, and they controlled everything in Jesus’ country.”